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A Right-Wing Rebellion on the Foley Scandal;Republican lawmakers are hanging with their leadership for now, but social conservatives needed for the election are raising an outcry
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| Contributor | Brandonius Maximus |
| Last Edited | Brandonius Maximus Oct 05, 2006 10:41am |
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| Category | General |
| Media | Weekly News Magazine - TIME Magazine |
| News Date | Thursday, October 5, 2006 04:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | During a 90-minute crisis conference call earlier this week, House Republicans scattered across the nation mostly pledged support for Speaker Dennis Hastert despite the leadership's clumsiness in recognizing the implications of former Rep. Mark Foley's inappropriate interest in teen-age male pages. Foley has resigned in disgrace and is seeking treatment for alcoholism, but House members and their aides tell TIME that they fear new revelations are coming. On the conference call, a rank-and-file member asked about a report, circulating in the leadership since at least Friday, that Foley had showed up drunk at a page dorm. A House leader said that the alleged visit should be discussed privately because reporters might learn about the call, according to people who were on the call.
Leadership aides expressed relief that members were, at least initially, staying loyal. "The ship didn't go down," one congressional aide said. Trying to quash speculation Hastert might step down under pressure from the Speakership next year if the G.O.P. retains control, his office issued a statement today saying he "will run again and serve his full term" if his colleagues elect him. But now Republicans have a new worry: Key social conservatives have issued blistering statements about the handling of the Foley matter, arguing that political correctness kept G.O.P. leaders from intervening earlier, and are making it clear that they are not giving Hastert and his team the benefit of the doubt. Republican pollsters are warning party officials that enthusiasm among their voters is waning from its already listless levels. And officials say the rebukes from Christian conservatives carry ominous implications for the midterm elections, when the G.O.P. will depend on these voters to turn out and work for the party's candidates. "These are the people you need," one dismayed official said. |
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